The stationary configuration of a batch may be necessary when the batch is not to be moved during the drying operation. This may be the case, for example, with regard to knitted fabrics and articles of clothing made of wool that would shrink if they were moved during drying. The same may apply to shoes or other batches that could be damaged as a result of movement in the drum.
Such a drying rack or a dryer is known, for example, from German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 40 34 660 A1. This describes a drying rack in the form of a laundry basket that is fastened at the rear to the mounting of the drum rear wall and, at the front, to the dryer door. The laundry basket is in the form of an upwardly open tray or shell and is manufactured from wire netting or grille. Comparable drying racks are known from German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 27 06 595, German Utility Model DE 85 05 995 U1, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,532 to Bigler, U.S. Pat. No. 3,316,659 to Lauck, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,548. All the above-mentioned publications likewise describe drying racks in the form of an upwardly open tray. Although drying racks so configured can receive a large volume, they, nevertheless, have, in particular, the disadvantage that the batch in them forms a ball. As a result, the drying-air stream reaches the core of the ball inadequately and the ball is, therefore, dried only slowly or not at all. This is the case particularly with regard to batches of wool because, in contrast to cotton, wool does not possess a wick effect and cannot conduct the moisture from the inside outward onto the surface to the drying-air stream. For this reason, it is not possible, with the known drying racks, to dry relatively large articles of clothing made of wool, such as, for example, pullovers.